St. Peter’s Catholic Graveyard

The first Catholic cemetery in New York City, and in the State of New York, was around the original St. Peter’s Catholic Church in lower Manhattan. In 1785, a group of Catholics in New York acquired an 110 x 125 foot plot on the southeast corner of Barclay and Church streets. The first St. Peter’s church, a brick building of 48 x 81 feet, was erected on the site and the remainder of the property was reserved for a burial ground.

St Peter’s Roman Catholic Church and the surrounding graveyard in 1807 (Bridges 1807)

The churchyard had become inadequate by the end of the 18th century, and in 1801 St. Peter’s purchased land at the corner of Prince and Mott streets to serve as a new burial ground. Subsequent acquisitions expanded this property, which became the site of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1809. In 1836, St Peter’s began construction of a new, larger church on the same site as the old church and graveyard on Barclay Street. The graves in the churchyard were removed at that time, and were reinterred in the graveyard adjacent to St. Patrick’s Cathedral at Prince and Mott streets. Some remains were reburied under the new church building, which still stands today. According to a statement made by Vicar General William Quinn in 1883, remains that had been buried beneath the present church were disturbed during excavation work in the mid-1800s and were reburied at Calvary Cemetery in Queens.

An 1831 view of the original St. Peter’s Church (Bourne Views of New York).A present-day view of St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church at 22 Barclay St. (Beyond My Ken)